S. Korean researchers develop urine test that diagnoses cancer

A South Korean research team has developed a strip-type urine test that successfully diagnoses prostate and pancreatic cancer on-site by amplifying the optical signal of the metabolome in urine.

The joint research team is from the Korea Institute of Materials Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology, and Kyung Hee University

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor that they developed can amplify the optical signal of the metabolome in urine by more than 1 billion times by forming a coral reef-shaped plasmonic nanomaterial on top of porous paper material.

A light irradiation after a 10-microliter urine droplet amplified signal of cancer metabolome on the sensor’s surface without the need to go through a separate analysis process,.

The application of an artificial intelligence-based analytical method for the spectrum signal generated through the irradiation of light into the urine can identify people with prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer with an accuracy of up to 99 percent.